OU’s Landry Jones overcame tough start to career

With a strong right arm, Oklahoma quarterback Landry Jones has calmly led the Sooners to a 4-0 start and the No. 3 ranking in the nation.

Jones runs the no-huddle offense with poise.

He puts up mind-boggling numbers, ranking fourth in the nation with 361 yards passing per game.

Jones, a junior from Artesia, N.M., is one of the major reasons that OU is favored to beat 11th-ranked Texas in the Red River showdown Saturday at the Cotton Bowl.

Still, there was a time when he made Sooners fans nervous when he stepped on the field.

Two years ago, OU lost its season opener to BYU after Sam Bradford went down with a shoulder injury.

Stepping in for Bradford, Jones failed to generate enough offense.

He started the next two games and played well, then lost again on the road against the Miami Hurricanes.

With the season slipping away, Bradford returned in OU’s next game against Baylor and led the Sooners to a victory.

For OU, it was only a mirage.

In the annual grudge match against Texas, Bradford crumpled to the turf again, knocked out on the second offensive series with the same shoulder injury.

With Jones at the controls for OU, UT eventually won 16-13 in an ugly game.

Bradford never returned that year, and the Sooners went on to finish a disappointing 8-5.

“I think a little bit has been made too much of him when the whole team struggled with a multitude of injuries we had in 2009,” Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said. “At the end of the day, Landry had some rough spots, but so did the whole offense.

“Here’s a backup guy who wasn’t prepared to be the starter.”

Last year, Jones earned redemption by leading the Sooners to the Big 12 title and a victory in the Fiesta Bowl.

Even then, not everything went smoothly. Late in a 28-20 victory over UT, he fumbled deep in OU’s end of the field.

Luckily for Jones, with UT defenders swarming, the ball squirted out of bounds and OU retained possession.

Despite all the history, UT coach Mack Brown said Jones is a difference-maker for OU this year.

“He is a great advantage for them going into this game,” Brown said. “He has been into the game. He’s won the game and he’s completing 72 percent of his passes. He’s very efficient in running their offense. I think he’s a tremendous player.